1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of food shaping devices. More specifically the present invention relates to an apparatus for tenderizing, progressively flattening and smoothing food items in the form of poultry as well as various meats, including but not limited to beef, pork, veal, lamb, buffalo and venison to a uniform thickness while tenderizing the tougher membrane side of poultry and preserving the opposing softer and more volatile side of poultry.
One embodiment of the apparatus includes a set of substantially parallel rollers arrayed laterally for contacting, mechanically advancing and tenderizing by piercing and puncturing the membrane side of poultry and a compressing conveyor belt opposing and spaced from the series of rollers for contacting and advancing without damage the soft side of the poultry. The set of rollers and the conveyor belt converge toward each other to define a gap tapering from a wider gap end to a narrower gap end for progressively flattening food items fed into the wider gap end. On the other hand, some meats require the top belt or roller set to be parallel with the bottom belt or roller set for deeper roller penetration when meat initially enters the apparatus. Some meats require a narrower gap at the apparatus entry end and a wider gap at the apparatus exit end for still deeper penetration and a more textured product created from the coarser rollers at the apparatus entry end. The compressing conveyor belt rides on belt cylinders which are closely spaced to prevent the belt from deflecting as the food product is compressed by movement through the progressively narrowing gap. At least one belt cylinder and each roller are independently driven by a gear drive train drivably connected to an electric motor or other drive means. The conveyor belt outward surface is smooth or is textured as needed for the particular poultry or meat. The belt cylinders are preferably formed of stainless steel, aluminum or plastic and have knurled grooves for belt traction. The rollers also are formed of stainless steel and several roller configurations are provided as described in prior patents to applicant. In addition to rollers and belts, strip cutters and dice cutters may be included.
A second embodiment of the apparatus includes a series of compressing conveyor belt pairs. Once again, the pairs of opposing compressing conveyor belts converge toward each other to define a gap tapering from a wider gap end to a narrower gap end for progressively flattening food items fed into the wider gap end. To prevent the food item from slipping backwards during flattening, the outer surfaces of the compressing conveyor belt pair have coarse textures. It is preferred that a series two or more opposing compressing conveyor belt pairs having decreasingly coarse outer surface textures be provided which are aligned to pass food items from the first compressing conveyor belt pair into the second compressing conveyor belt pair and optionally into a third compressing conveyor belt pair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been techniques for flattening meat. These have generally required the labor of butchers and food preparers who have to grip the meat with their hands, leading to inherent sanitation problems. Furthermore, such manual techniques do not result in a uniform flatness which can be necessary for even cooking and consistent cooking time for all areas of the meat, and for a desired aesthetic appearance. Opposing and converging pairs of roller sets do not protect the soft side of poultry or meat from damage. Opposing and converging conveyor belt pairs do not break into the membrane side or muscle side of the poultry or meat food item, and if much pressure is applied to reduce the food item thickness there is not enough traction on the belts and the food item begins to slip backwards, damaging the food item and halting production. Furthermore, when puncturing and piercing the membrane side and muscle side of the food item, the food item does not rebound to its original thickness during cooking. Similar problems exist for flattening chicken, veal, pork, lamp, goat, buffalo and venison.
Attempts have been made to solve these problems, and these attempts have led to the development of the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,135,960, issued on Nov. 8, 1938 to Campell; U.S. Pat. No. 2,243,492, issued on May 27, 1941 to Wilson; U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,028, issued on Sep. 20, 1955 to Read, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,893 issued on Feb. 20, 1973 to Vogelsang; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,482 issued on Apr. 25, 1978 to Charron, none of which actually overcame these problems. The tenderizer type machines pierce and penetrate meat and further cause the meat to be chopped into separate pieces.
The apparatus generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,786, issued on Dec. 22, 1998, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,132, issued on Jul. 10, 2001, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,499, issued on Aug. 5, 2003, all to the present applicant, does in fact overcome these problems in that the device flattens uniformly and tenderizes pieces of meat mostly without need of handling by a person. Yet it would be further desirable to provide an apparatus which tenderizes the tougher membrane side of poultry while preserving the opposing softer and more volatile side.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for flattening meat which combines a roller set with a compressing conveyor belt opposing and spaced from the roller set so that the roller set tenderizes and flattens without piercing and puncturing the membrane side of poultry and the conveyor belt contacts and advances the poultry or other food item without breaking into or otherwise damaging the softer side of the poultry. Using this roller configuration prevents the food item such as meat from slipping backwards when extreme pressure is applied.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which prevents meat from wrinkling as a result of wave motion caused by meat passing from one flattening roller to the next, by providing a series two or more opposing compressing conveyor belt pairs having decreasingly coarse outer textures which are aligned to pass food items from the first compressing conveyor belt pair into the second compressing conveyor belt pair and optionally into a third compressing conveyor belt pair.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which processes pieces of poultry and meat at high volume and rapidly, with minimal cost and maximum reliably.